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Billups Investigates Global White Supremacist Networks in South Africa

Earlier this year, Emory History Department PhD candidate William (Robert) Billups investigated connections between antisemitic networks in South Africa and civil rights opponents in the US South. Emory’s Tam Institute for Jewish Studies (TIJS) supported Billups’ research on this topic, which included three weeks at two South African archives, the Kaplan Centre for Jewish Studies and the University of the Free State’s Archive for Contemporary Affairs. Records from those archives helped Billups to understand the links between some US civil rights opponents and far-right groups outside of the US.

In an excellent reflection on the research published by the TIJS, Billups writes:

“As KKK members increasingly perpetrated violence in the civil rights South, some white South Africans sought to join US-based KKK organizations. To study South African Klan members, I spent two weeks in the Archive for Contemporary Affairs in Bloemfontein. Following guidance from the South African historian Milton Shain and the archivist Lwazi Mestile, I focused on the papers of Ray Rudman, South Africa’s self-described Klan leader during the 1950s and 1960s. Rudman’s papers contained letters and recruitment materials about joining a Klan organization based in Waco, Texas.

I expected white South African Klan recruits to describe their opposition to the anti-apartheid movement, a liberation movement that in many ways paralleled the US civil rights movement, as their main motive for joining. Some did. But to my surprise, antisemitic beliefs that far-right South Africans shared with US-based Klan leaders seemed to them an equally important connection, if not a more important one. They described entering the Klan as joining US white supremacists in fighting the supposed international Jewish conspiracy that they falsely believed controlled world communism, the civil rights movement, and the anti-apartheid movement.”

Billups received his doctorate in May 2024. He completed his dissertation, “‘Reign of Terror’: Anti–Civil Rights Terrorism in the United States, 1954–1976,” under the advisement of Drs. Joseph Crespino and Allen Tullos. Billups was recognized for his stellar record of research with the Laney Graduate School’s Outstanding Scholarly Research Award.

by emoryhistorydept

Alumni Update: Cameron Katz (BA, ’21)

The History Department was excited to receive an update from Cameron Katz, a 2021 Emory graduate who completed a double major in U.S. History and English Creative Writing. Since graduation Cameron has been working for Made By Us, a coalition of 200+ history museums – from the Smithsonian to local organizations (like the Atlanta History Center!) – working to connect with 18-30-year-olds. She creates tons of history content on social media (check us out @HistoryMadeByUs), oversees media partnerships, and is working to build a community of young people passionate about history. Through Made By Us, she’s also been able to write about all kinds of history as a contributor to Teen Vogue. She is grateful to the Emory History Department for inspiring a love of research and teaching her how to write in an accessible and engaging way. Cameron also recently returned from a trip to South Korea, where she was visiting another Emory alum.

Are you an Emory History alum? Please send us updates on your life and work!

by emoryhistorydept

Celebrating Senior Prize Recipients

The Undergraduate Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the History Department’s Undergraduate Senior Prizes for 2023-2024. They are:

George P. Cuttino Prize for the best record in European History: Harrison Helms

James Z. Rabun Prize for the best record in American History: Joe Beare

The African, Asian, and Latin American History Prize for the best record in African, Asian, and Latin American History: Orion Jones and Yingyi Tan

Matthew A. Carter Citizen-Scholar Award: Anhhuy Do

These awards were presented at our in-person Senior Celebration on Wednesday, May 1, 2pm – 3:30pm, in the Emory Student Center. Congratulations to all!

by emoryhistorydept

Celebrating 2024 Graduates

From Left to Right: Dr. Jason Morgan Ward, Dr. William (Robert) Billups, Dr. Georgia Brunner, Dr. Marissa L. Nichols, Dr. Yanna Yannakakis, Dr. Kyungtaek Kwon, Dr. Matthew J. Payne, Dr. Melissa Faris Gayan.

The Emory History Department celebrates the graduate and undergraduate students who are completing their studies and degrees this spring. Five Emory History doctoral students will be recognized at the Laney Graduate School Diploma Ceremony on Friday, May 10. They are:

  • William (Robert) Billups, “‘Reign of Terror’: Anti–Civil Rights Terrorism in the United States, 1954–1976,” advised by Drs. Joseph Crespino and Allen Tullos
  • Georgia Brunner, “Building a Nation: Gender, Labor and the Politics of Nationalism in Colonial Rwanda, 1916-1962,” advised by Drs. Clifton Crais and Mariana P. Candido
  • Melissa Faris Gayan,* “The First Crack in the Ice: How the 1956 Protests Altered Soviet Cold War Hegemony,” advised by Dr. Matthew Payne
  • Kyungtaek Kwon,* “Identifying the City: Komsomol’sk-na-Amure Transformation from Military Outpost to the City of Youth in the Soviet Far East, 1932-1982,” advised by Dr. Matthew Payne
  • Marissa L. Nichols,* “Nurses, Indigenous Authorities, and Rural Health in Oaxaca, Mexico, 1934-1970,” advised by Dr. Yanna Yannakakis

*completed in summer 2023

Find out more information about all Emory commencement events here.

Congratulations, graduates!

by emoryhistorydept

Alumni Update: Tom Czerwinski (BA, ’03)

Calakmul ruins, Campeche

We are delighted to share news from Tom Czerwinski (BA, 2003), who has been a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State and career member of the Foreign Service for the past 10 years.  With a portfolio focused on management of Embassy operations, his postings have taken him to Washington DC, Mongolia, Mexico, Cyprus, and his current assignment as Management Officer at the U.S. Consulate General Durban in Durban, South Africa.  He and his family move every two-to-three years, and his next posting will be in Bogota, Columbia. While at the Department of State, Tom has learned Mongolian and Spanish.

His history credentials have come in handy in the Foreign Service, as he is able to quickly learn the facts on the ground and how current U.S. foreign policy connects with history, whether it’s the deep linkages between Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula and the U.S. due to the 19th-century sisal trade (did you know that in 1900, Merida has more millionaires per capita than Paris and London?), or the centuries-old history that keeps Nicoasia, Cyprus the last remaining divided capital in Europe (and where the UN-protected “green zone” running through the center of the capital remains perpetually frozen in 1974, including a basement full of “new” 1970’s era Toyota Corollas, each with zero miles on the odometer).  It’s been an amazing, rewarding, and sometimes challenging adventure.

Tom is always happy to talk to any Emory students or alumni about the Foreign Service – just look him up on Emory Connects to get in touch.

Are you an Emory History alum? Please send us updates on your life and work!

by emoryhistorydept

Three History Majors Named to Emory 100 Senior Honorary


Congratulations to Senior History Majors Joe Beare, Anhhuy Do, and Harrison Helms on being inducted into the Emory Senior 100 Honorary. Every year, the Emory Alumni Board and the Student Alumni Board recognize the success of outstanding students and identify emerging alumni leaders from the current senior class through the 100 Senior Honorary. This year’s induction ceremony was February 6. These seniors are campus leaders, thought provokers, dynamic athletes, academic mentors, and community influencers. They are committed to their passions and pursuits, and they have made significant contributions to the Emory community. And each one is also committed to making significant contributions to their alumni communities around the world.

by emoryhistorydept

Lal in TIME: “What a Mughal Princess Can Teach Us About Feminist History”


Dr. Ruby Lal, Professor in the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies and Associated Faculty in the History Department, recently author an article in TIME, “What a Mughal Princess Can Teach Us About Feminist History.” Lal’s piece centers on her latest book, Vagabond Princess: The Great Adventures of Gulbadan (Yale, 2023), which chronicles the life of Princess Gulbadan, a fascinating figure who travelled widely and authored the sole extant work of prose by a woman in the early decades of the Mughal Empire. Lal’s article also addresses the marginalization of feminist and women’s histories, both in Gulbadan’s time and our own. Read an excerpt from the TIME article below along with the full article. Also listen to an interview with Lal on WABE’s City Lights.

“Books and chronicles from centuries past are precious gifts. Holding onto their words, we can delve into the beauty and torments of human life. With such rare possessions, we come close to another time; watch her creation, her uncertainties, her discoveries, the stuff of history. But uncovering feminist history is a slow process, and too often, women historians are the only ones willing to do that work. Beveridge taught herself Persian to reveal Gulbadan’s history. I have spent years combining hundreds of documents to assemble the adventures of daring and imaginative Mughal women.”

by emoryhistorydept

Olivia Cocking Wins Award from the Society for French Historical Studies

Graduate student Olivia Cocking has won a Farrar Memorial Award from the Society for French Historical Studies to continue her dissertation research in France. Her project, “Droits assurés, droits bafoués: Race, Nationality, and the Right to Living Well in France After Empire,” has involved research in Paris, Lille, and Marseilles thus far. Cocking has presented her work at the French Colonial Historical Society Conference (Martinique) and the European Association for Urban History Conference (Antwerp, Belgium). Cocking also holds a 3-year Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship. Her dissertation committee is co-chaired by Professors Tehila Sasson and Judith Miller and includes Prof. Mariana Candido.

by emoryhistorydept

Alumni Update: Daniel Krebs (PhD ’07)

The History Department was pleased to receive an update from Dr. Daniel Krebs (Ph.D. 2007). Krebs writes that a year ago, he “left the University of Louisville, and my fairly narrow confines of early American military history, and joined the faculty of the Department of National Security & Strategy at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA. My new position focuses much more generally on military history, security, strategy, defense, policy, and particularly on regional studies, especially in Europe. I am also the overall director of the advanced regional studies program. This program sends our students around the world on various trips and courses to learn about the strategic environment in other regions. Our students are all senior leaders in the U.S. military and government. Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels (or civilian equivalents) with 20+ years of experience in the military and government. We also have students from partner and allied nations in each of our courses. All students earn a Masters in Security Studies during a year-long stay in Carlisle. So, I went from teaching young BAs & MAs to adult education. From civilian state university to professional military education within the Federal Government/Department of Defense. From ivory tower academia to an institution that is much more concerned with contemporary policy-making and strategy. From thinking about history in the traditional sense to thinking about how history can be applied for strategic decision-making.”

Are you an Emory History alum? Please send us updates on your life and work!

by emoryhistorydept

Alumni Update: Marty Pimentel (C’20)

Pimentel at a youth climate workshop focused on women’s climate adaptation in Morocco

The History Department was pleased to receive an update from Marty Pimentel, a History major who graduated from the College in 2020. After graduating Pimentel went to Georgetown for a master’s degree in Arab Studies. After two years of classes, a year abroad in Morocco, and another thesis, he graduated in May 2023 with distinction. He spent a year in Morocco doing fieldwork for his graduate thesis and did more fieldwork in Morocco last fall. He was there researching environmental civil society and spoke with some incredibly inspiring people. Now he is starting a new full-time position as a Program Manager and Research Associate with the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, one of the premier foreign policy and international affairs think tanks in DC.

Are you an Emory History alum? Please send us updates on your life and work!